Google Cloud has formed a new business that will concentrate on blockchain applications. It is a part of the internet giant’s push to spread its services to new sectors.
Introduction
According to Thomas Kurian, Google’s cloud CEO, the new organization would concentrate on the healthcare and retail industries. Emerging as the main player in cloud storage may be beneficial for Google as it has been focused on advertising for many years.
Google will benefit from a shift to a concentration on blockchain technology. This would allow it to develop in retail and other areas instead of advertising.
Use of Blockchain
The director of the Strategy for Digital Assets, Richard Widmann, has said that he is trying to employ blockchain expertise. The company’s strategy to expand decentralization will include this personnel.
According to a Google blog post, firms like Dapper Labs, Hedera, and Theta Lab already use Google Cloud for scalability and security. They specialize in blockchain and distributed ledger technologies.
Other businesses will be able to use blockchain-based platforms to create, trade, store value, and launch goods.
The development of a new Digital Assets Team for blockchain technology, which has been likened to the advent of open source and the internet, was announced by Google Cloud.
In the eyes of many, those seem like lofty comparisons to make for a new technology that many have yet to grasp. However, to keep up with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud is making an aggressive blockchain investment.
Google also said that it’s looking into the possibility of allowing cloud users to send and receive payments in cryptocurrency. This is the most common application of blockchain so far.
Unlike Microsoft, which last year canceled its Azure Blockchain service and recommended customers transition to another blockchain provider, Google has not taken any such action. Neither a rationale nor an explanation was offered for this.
Competition
As businesses throughout the globe undergo enormous digital changes, the need for cloud infrastructure will only continue to climb.
As a result of these advantages, businesses may save a substantial amount of money while increasing security, scalability, and data storage capacity. It will also help reduce environmental concerns.
As of the third quarter of 2021, Microsoft MSFT and its fast expanding Azure cloud service possess around 21% of the worldwide market share. Google Cloud, in third place, has about 8% of the global market share.
In order to get up to speed, among the new group’s activities will include integrating Google’s partner ecosystem, such as the Google Cloud Marketplace. It will provide a comprehensive blockchain transaction history for bitcoin, ethereum, and bitcoin.
According to the blog post, another initiative will use Google Cloud as the connecting thread between conventional business and blockchain technology. In the blog post, Google Cloud also said that it is exploring the potential to allow Google Cloud users to make and receive payments using cryptocurrency.
IThe firm supports Coinbase, Bitpay, Gemini, and Bakkt crypto cards, which may be linked to Google Pay, although transactions are still made in fiat currency.
Google hired Arnold Goldberg, a former PayPal CEO. He will be leading the group’s payments business.
Conclusion
In retrospect, Google’s interest in cryptocurrencies may have been motivated by a desire to keep up with the competition. Other firms affiliated with Google have also hopped on the blockchain bandwagon.
